First off i would like to say that this movie didnt deserve the catagory III tag, which usually involves alot of sex and violence...but in this case fails miserably. A fairly routine slasher flick that borrows from alot of other movies of the genre but doesnt really elaborate or improve on them. The main problem i had with the movie was that the chase and suspense scenes just seemed to fail, the tension build up was let down by VERY predictable and silly scare tactics.The acting was pretty awful all around despite some pretty female cast members! well theres some eye candy at least. The main story centered around a `I Know What You Did Last Summer` scenario about a prank that goes horribly wrong and is covered up by the protagonists...then some time later they start getting stalked by a masked maniac who offs most of them before the final showdown and twists...`Scream` anyone??? a few fairly neat ideas, like the hand held camera inserts and the masked killer with supernatural abilities i.e. being in 2 places at once and always being one step ahead of the victims..just dont really save this from another `run of the mill` and routine asian slasher....4/10 from me!
10 Reviews
I Know What You Did Last Summer In South Korea
Jerry-9318 November 2002
Movies that make tons of money usually go on to spawn a million copies of said movie. It happens once a week in the US (remember all the space-related films that came out after Star Wars?). So, it's only fair that, in the name of free trade, Koreans should be able to co-opt our popular movies; in this case, the one that help revive our stagnant horror film genre.
Movie in a nutshell: A dorky asthmatic kid that everyone hates becomes the butt of a cruel practical joke. Ya see, these kids that hate him have tricked him into starring in their latest home movie. Unfortunately, he is killed in the process. They bury (or try to bury) the body, only to be haunted by a mysterious stranger a year later. Hmmm, where have I seen this movie before...
Yes, this IS a Korean retread of I Know What You Did Last Summer, with dashes of Scream thrown in (they even go so far as to have the creepy sister from I Know..., played by a girl who looks exactly like, of course, Sadako). Those movies were not the greatest, and neither is this. If you've seen those, you've seen this. Even hardcore splatter fans will be put off by the fact that the Cat.III rating yields nearly no blood (what is this, the MPAA?). Probably shouldn't be watched, even though I did somewhat enjoy it.
Movie in a nutshell: A dorky asthmatic kid that everyone hates becomes the butt of a cruel practical joke. Ya see, these kids that hate him have tricked him into starring in their latest home movie. Unfortunately, he is killed in the process. They bury (or try to bury) the body, only to be haunted by a mysterious stranger a year later. Hmmm, where have I seen this movie before...
Yes, this IS a Korean retread of I Know What You Did Last Summer, with dashes of Scream thrown in (they even go so far as to have the creepy sister from I Know..., played by a girl who looks exactly like, of course, Sadako). Those movies were not the greatest, and neither is this. If you've seen those, you've seen this. Even hardcore splatter fans will be put off by the fact that the Cat.III rating yields nearly no blood (what is this, the MPAA?). Probably shouldn't be watched, even though I did somewhat enjoy it.
Vastly inferior to the American slashers
Iguanatic19 June 2003
Korea's answer to "I Know What You Did Last Summer" follows a similar story route to its American counterpart: one year after a group of high school friends accidentally kill a classmate, a masked killer begins to pick them off one by one. Who could have possibly seen them that night - or was their 'victim' still alive when they dumped him into the sea?
Originality cannot be expected from the teen slasher genre anymore but an effort can still be made to ensure films of this ilke are entertaining and scary. RECORD is neither, churning out badly rehashed scenes from "I Know...", "The House On Sorority Row" and "The Faculty" (among many others) and failing to deliver one decent shock throughout the 95 minutes.
Acting is decent from the cast who, as seems to be the norm in Korean cinema, approach an uninspiring script with gusto and an undeserved enthusiasm. Direction is mediocre at best, however; a strange choice of camera angles and the worst killer's costume *EVER* contributing to RECORD's downfall. Most disappointing is the film's ending, where the two 'surprise twists' are that obvious you've earlier dismissed them as being too blatant!
RECORD's only saving grace is its bright start - the first act is actually excellent and shows the American counterparts how character development and setting the mood are supposed to be done - but, other than that, this is a very poor movie. Not recommended.
** / *****
Originality cannot be expected from the teen slasher genre anymore but an effort can still be made to ensure films of this ilke are entertaining and scary. RECORD is neither, churning out badly rehashed scenes from "I Know...", "The House On Sorority Row" and "The Faculty" (among many others) and failing to deliver one decent shock throughout the 95 minutes.
Acting is decent from the cast who, as seems to be the norm in Korean cinema, approach an uninspiring script with gusto and an undeserved enthusiasm. Direction is mediocre at best, however; a strange choice of camera angles and the worst killer's costume *EVER* contributing to RECORD's downfall. Most disappointing is the film's ending, where the two 'surprise twists' are that obvious you've earlier dismissed them as being too blatant!
RECORD's only saving grace is its bright start - the first act is actually excellent and shows the American counterparts how character development and setting the mood are supposed to be done - but, other than that, this is a very poor movie. Not recommended.
** / *****
South Korea's answer to "I Know What You Did Last Summer"
Pedro-3725 February 2002
This starts off really kinky. I guess the director has a fetish for female feet and legs because we see those a couple of times during the first minutes. Well, nothing against a nice pair of legs, ey? We also see sexy Eun-mi, one of the only reasons to watch this movie. This girl is a sweetheart. That might explain why school weirdo Sung-wook is very excited when she invites him to spend a weekend with her and her friend Hui-jung in a cottage. Lucky geek. So far, so nice. Who wouldn't want to see that geek score with Eun-mi? (have I mentioned that she's really sexy?)...
But you won't. There's no scoring because now the film shifts tone. We see three young men entering the house, beating the girls and slicing a huge knife into the poor boy. Wow, that was a shocker. So what's this gonna be now? A slasher movie? Not really because it turns out that this was only a hoax. The boys didn't kill anyone, it was only a set up to film a little horror movie. Got that so far? Well, it gets more complicated because they accidentally DID kill Sung-wook. The kids decide to get rid of the body and burn it. That second, it turns out that Sung-wook was NOT dead. He burns, runs, falls. And is dead. Or is he?
One year later, the kids get a message that basically says "I Know What You Did Last Summer" ... or something like that. From now on, the movie just copies from US-counterparts like "I Know" and "Scream". The only exception is that Eun-mi is really sexy (I just had to mention that) ... well, actually, "The Record" gets worse than the US-Teenie-Slashers because those kids are REALLY dumb. They always separate for no apparent reason and they always search for the killer unarmed! Then, when the killer appears, they have to run away because hey, they're unarmed! That gets really boring and once Eun-mi (who's really sexy by the way) gets it, there's not much reason to watch on. Did I mention that the ending is completely contrived? Well it is.
So would I recommend "The Record"? Partially. As you might have guessed, I'd recommend checking out Eun-mi since she's really sweet. Plus, the first couple of minutes are weird in a interesting way because they don't prepare you for what is coming up. Furthermore, there are two cool death sequences: Sung-wook's (pretty gory) and the demise of the school's nurse (whose legs we get to know quite well during this movie). The other deaths and horror moments are giveaways. They are badly edited and not that scary. Should I come to an end? OK, I'd rate the movie 5/10 because Eun-mi is really ... oh, well, you get the point.
Rating: 5/10
But you won't. There's no scoring because now the film shifts tone. We see three young men entering the house, beating the girls and slicing a huge knife into the poor boy. Wow, that was a shocker. So what's this gonna be now? A slasher movie? Not really because it turns out that this was only a hoax. The boys didn't kill anyone, it was only a set up to film a little horror movie. Got that so far? Well, it gets more complicated because they accidentally DID kill Sung-wook. The kids decide to get rid of the body and burn it. That second, it turns out that Sung-wook was NOT dead. He burns, runs, falls. And is dead. Or is he?
One year later, the kids get a message that basically says "I Know What You Did Last Summer" ... or something like that. From now on, the movie just copies from US-counterparts like "I Know" and "Scream". The only exception is that Eun-mi is really sexy (I just had to mention that) ... well, actually, "The Record" gets worse than the US-Teenie-Slashers because those kids are REALLY dumb. They always separate for no apparent reason and they always search for the killer unarmed! Then, when the killer appears, they have to run away because hey, they're unarmed! That gets really boring and once Eun-mi (who's really sexy by the way) gets it, there's not much reason to watch on. Did I mention that the ending is completely contrived? Well it is.
So would I recommend "The Record"? Partially. As you might have guessed, I'd recommend checking out Eun-mi since she's really sweet. Plus, the first couple of minutes are weird in a interesting way because they don't prepare you for what is coming up. Furthermore, there are two cool death sequences: Sung-wook's (pretty gory) and the demise of the school's nurse (whose legs we get to know quite well during this movie). The other deaths and horror moments are giveaways. They are badly edited and not that scary. Should I come to an end? OK, I'd rate the movie 5/10 because Eun-mi is really ... oh, well, you get the point.
Rating: 5/10
I Know What You Did Last Summer in Korea
cha2126930 July 2002
These days, Asian horror films are among the best in the world, noted for their atmosphere and reflection of contemporary society. This is not one of those films! Instead, "The Record" is a mediocre slasher movie highly derivative of American movies like "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "Scream". The plot is familiar - 5 teenagers accidently commit a terrible crime, but cover it up swearing to secrecy. One year later, they're being stalked by a knife-wielding maniac (with the decidely unscary disguise of a hospital sterile mask and an orange jumpsuit). It doesn't help that the teenagers are a generally unlikable group (this is one of those movies where the killer's motives seem pretty reasonable) and there are numerous stupid plot setups to keep the story going. The direction of the movie is unsubtle, more influenced by MTV than by current Asian horror films (like "The Ring"). The last third of the movie isn't too bad though, delivering some decent suspense scenes, though there is probably one "twist" too many in the end. 4/10
Asian modern hollywood horror rip-off.
mojave2148 May 2002
This is a rip-off of already crappy hollywood movies like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. The story is classic, some high-school students tries a prank on the class' asthmatic misfit but something goes wrong. Terribly wrong. When you watch the movie you know what'll happen before it happens all the time, not good if a movie tries to be scary. The actors are quite ok and the girls are cute (after all, they're asian) so i'll give it two out of five on the mojave'o'meter.
WHY, OH WHY DID I WATCH THIS?
KuraiSoma17 September 2002
Stay FAR AWAY from this film. The fact that you're reading reviews tells me you may have already been tainted by the awfulness it carrys. This is a truely horrid movie... so let's get down to the problems. Writing and Direction: It wouldnt surprise me if these were handled by a group of overactive gradeschoolers that watched 'scream' and 'I know what you did last summer' a few too many times. GIANT GAPING plot holes abound; while I can't congratulate them for this movie, its nice knowing they're finally potty trained. Actors(or lack thereof): Only the finest for this film... the finest extras ever to grace a screen, now starring in their speaking role debut! As a disclaimer, I have to note that I am capable of watching and enjoying just about anything. I recognize a good movie when I see it, but I can still giggle and smirk during Bubble Boy (yes folks, its true); so when I say to avoid something, you KNOW I'm not kidding.
Not a ripoff
axedoff9 September 2005
Warning: Spoilers
THIS IS NOT A RIPOFF! ALL PEOPLE WHO Haven't SEEN THIS YET LISTEN TO ME! Okay just because a movie has a plot only slightly like another movie doesn't exactly mean its a ripoff. I mean come on you people might as well just b#%^h about every movie that copied Friday THE 13th! Okay here are the MAJOR differences Teens accidentally kill random person they don't know in car crash: Teens accidentally kill another student by stabbing him to death.
Both groups vow not to speak of it ONE SIMILARITY!!!!!!!! Teens start getting killed by figure in fishing uniform: Teens start getting killed by figure in boiler jacket and hood.
Basically this is a pretty good time with good acting, some nice suspense, gore, a fun and funny soundtrack and a great ending. I Know What You did Last Summer was an okay movie but this is a lot better in my view and probably others too.
Both groups vow not to speak of it ONE SIMILARITY!!!!!!!! Teens start getting killed by figure in fishing uniform: Teens start getting killed by figure in boiler jacket and hood.
Basically this is a pretty good time with good acting, some nice suspense, gore, a fun and funny soundtrack and a great ending. I Know What You did Last Summer was an okay movie but this is a lot better in my view and probably others too.
Top notch, scary Korean slasher thriller!!
ernie4152-113 June 2005
Director Gi-hun Kim has the talent to scare your pants off and proves it with this well done blood letting. The script is refreshing and the story moves along at a pace that keeps you jumping.
Another element that makes "Record" so great is the content of the murders. The victims aren't just helpless plot puppets waiting to die like a mannequin, but real people who want to live. Each puts up a good fight in defending themselves, and several nearly escape the killer. The characters who die are often unexpected, members of the main cast--making this production unpredictable.
Watching this film for the first time in the basement of a four story house, with no-one else in was the perfect setting for this film. From the very first scene I was gripped and I could not wait for the climax to discover the murderer and his motives. The script was extremely original, as they had purposely set out to parody the typical slasher style movie.
It was written in a way that deceived and tricked and had you jumping out of your seats but also laughing at the paradoxical black humor. For anyone looking for a good horror film with a twist, you won't find a better one than Record.
Another element that makes "Record" so great is the content of the murders. The victims aren't just helpless plot puppets waiting to die like a mannequin, but real people who want to live. Each puts up a good fight in defending themselves, and several nearly escape the killer. The characters who die are often unexpected, members of the main cast--making this production unpredictable.
Watching this film for the first time in the basement of a four story house, with no-one else in was the perfect setting for this film. From the very first scene I was gripped and I could not wait for the climax to discover the murderer and his motives. The script was extremely original, as they had purposely set out to parody the typical slasher style movie.
It was written in a way that deceived and tricked and had you jumping out of your seats but also laughing at the paradoxical black humor. For anyone looking for a good horror film with a twist, you won't find a better one than Record.
it's bad, but ive chosen to watch it twice
thewolfman16 June 2003
Record (or THE record as it is sometimes called... why?) is a bad movie. I mean, there are plot holes at every turn, the characters are unrealistic, and some scenes dont have a logical ending. (the one in the bus with the killer? how did she get out of that?) But I liked it so much that i watched it a second time. You should at least watch it once... even though it's hard to get outside of asia.
Killer: I bet you think i'm a clever person, dont you?
Girl: More like a d*mn hell kite!
Best subtitle ever.
Killer: I bet you think i'm a clever person, dont you?
Girl: More like a d*mn hell kite!
Best subtitle ever.
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